Ed Perlmutter was born in Denver and now lives in Golden, making him a lifelong resident of the district he serves. He attended the University of Colorado where he earned a bachelor's in economics, political science and history in 1975, and a law degree in 1978. He worked in construction with his father during summers while he attended college.

Perlmutter worked as an attorney for a local law firm before his election to the state Senate in 1994. He was re-elected in 1998 and left office in 2002 because of term limits.

He was elected to the U.S. House in 2006.

Perlmutter is married and has three grown daughters.

Ed Perlmutter was easily re-elected in 2010, defeating Republican challenger Ryan Frazier, who many believed was a big threat. Perlmutter's district will be slightly more competitive in 2012 because of recent congressional redistricting. He faces Joe Coors of the wealthy beer brewing family in the November general election.

Perlmutter voted in 2010 for both the health care reform bill and the overhaul of financial industry regulations.

In 2011, he teamed up with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet to push for salvaging the Orion spacecraft program after President Barack Obama cancelled it along with the Constellation moon mission in 2010. When the program was revived and the Orion was repurposed as an escape vehicle for the International Space Station, both legislators said they were confident the spacecraft would fly.

"The White House and the Congress both recognize the importance of this program," Perlmutter said at the time.

The Orion is being assembled in Colorado by Lockheed Martin, which employs nearly 10,000 people in the state.

Perlmutter typically sides in Congress with his fellow Democrats. Given a speaking slot at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, he called for greater investment in renewable energy, an issue he has pushed in Congress with a proposal to boost tax credits for energy-efficient buildings.

He made financial matters his top priority during his second term. He voted in February 2009 for the approximately $800 billion economic stimulus package backed by President Barack Obama, saying the legislation would create 60,000 Colorado jobs.

That same month, though, Perlmutter was among a group of business-minded Democrats in the House who raised questions about Obama's proposed plan to help homeowners facing foreclosure. Perlmutter said he wasn't sure how the measure helped homeowners who weren't staring at bankruptcy but were buckling under burdensome mortgage payments. Perlmutter ultimately voted for a version of the bill in March 2009.

He has lobbied for veterans' services, including pushing for the completion of a VA Medical Center in Aurora.

Under new congressional maps, Perlmutter will no longer represent Aurora. His district has always been considered a toss-up because it's nearly evenly split among Democrats, Republicans and independents. That's still the case, but redistricting increases the number of registered Republicans and independents by about 1 percent each.

Perlmutter was part of a Democratic coalition that in 2000 took control of the Colorado Senate for the first time since the 1960s. Six years later, he was among a group of national Democrats who took control of the U.S. House, winning the open seat in Denver's western suburbs vacated by Republican Rep. Bob Beauprez.